The lost tax proposal: How much would the 20 richest Americans pay if the initiative took effect in 2020?

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October 30, 2021 15:56 GMT

According to Forbes, if the project was approved last year, the total “debt” of American billionaires would amount to about 345 billion dollars.

On Wednesday, US Senator Ron Wyden introduced a tax bill on unrealized gains that would force the richest North American country with more than $100,000 million in assets or earn more than $100 million for three consecutive years to pay Capital taxes. gains. according to Estimates According to Forbes, the total “debt” that the 20 richest people in the United States would have paid if the law went into effect in 2020 amounts to about 345 billion dollars.

“There are two types of tax laws in the United States, one mandatory for workers and one voluntary for billionaires.” books Wyden on his Twitter account.

The initiative has been criticized by some billionaires, including Elon Musk and former President Donald Trump, while others, such as Senator Joe Manchin, have indicated that its implementation would be unlikely. “Sooner or later people run out of money and They come for you“, chirp musk.

A day later, the project was replaced with a more conservative proposal that taxed additional income rather than unrealized gains, so it hardly changes the tax bill for the wealthy compared to the Wyden Project.

Tax debt for the rich

as Calculate Forbes, if the law is passed in 2020, the 20 richest people in the United States will pay $239 billion In taxes that year, and with 106 billion dollars More than they would have paid in 2021, the total is $345 billion in “debt,” which is a 19% Of his total current net worth, which is estimated at $1.8 trillion.

The most affected billionaire in 2020 will be Jeff Bezos which would have paid $39.7 billion, followed by Mark Zuckerberg With a tax bill of $19.9 billion. For its part, in 2020 and 2021, Elon Musk He had paid a total of $29.8 billion, while the taxes paid by the American billionaire between 2014 and 2018 amounted to only $455 million, according to data by ProPublica.

Meanwhile, the most conservative proposal would have forced the wealthy to pay an amount $11.9 billion, 333,000 million less than projected under the Wyden Project.

“Billionaires and mega-millionaires are able to largely bypass the tax system in a way that causes enormous economic damage,” said David Gamaj, a professor at Indiana University.